This book is so clever and so poignant and so quirky. Apollo and Hermes in a bar. Dogs who write poetry. Contemplating language in the same sentence aThis book is so clever and so poignant and so quirky. Apollo and Hermes in a bar. Dogs who write poetry. Contemplating language in the same sentence as smelling another dog’s anus. What it means to know, and to love, and to die happy.
I’m going to read everything this author’s published. ...more
I am telling everyone I know about this book, whether they want to hear it or not. It's totally turned my opinions about emotions around and really gaI am telling everyone I know about this book, whether they want to hear it or not. It's totally turned my opinions about emotions around and really gave me pause about our legal system. A little heavy on background for the civilian in the first half but gets really intense in the second....more
This is a book that will stay with me forever. It tells the story of twins in Auschwitz who lived and were experimented on in Mengele's zoo. That it iThis is a book that will stay with me forever. It tells the story of twins in Auschwitz who lived and were experimented on in Mengele's zoo. That it is also one of the most hopeful books I've ever read should be impossible. Utterly amazing in plot, language and character development. ...more
This book should be required reading for all humans. The overarching thesis is that self-justification is the root of all evil. There are also some exThis book should be required reading for all humans. The overarching thesis is that self-justification is the root of all evil. There are also some extraordinarily beautiful sentences. ...more
This sums up Lincoln, who wrote at 23: "Whether it be true or not, I can say for one I have no other [ambition] so great as that of being truly esteemThis sums up Lincoln, who wrote at 23: "Whether it be true or not, I can say for one I have no other [ambition] so great as that of being truly esteemed by my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of that esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is to be developed." This book is a great primer in the good use of the ambition so many of us have, and I took all its lessons to heart.
It's a long book. To skip the backstory and go straight to Lincoln's presidency, start w/part II, Master Among Men, on p. 323....more
This one's going on the top shelf. It's sprawling and has a lot of characters to keep track of, but the writing is good and poignant and important. ThThis one's going on the top shelf. It's sprawling and has a lot of characters to keep track of, but the writing is good and poignant and important. That Gov. Packer bears such sharp resemblance to Donald Trump was jarring and everything about the banks and Occupy Wall Street rang true. As I read, I've been laid off for four months and struggling to find much energy for my current novel in progress. This book made me want to write again. Good job, fellow native Iowan. Thanks for reminding me beginnings are supposed to be scary. ...more
It's nearly impossible for me to overstate my respect for Elizabeth Warren. In this book, she and her daughter Amelia use their knowledge and researchIt's nearly impossible for me to overstate my respect for Elizabeth Warren. In this book, she and her daughter Amelia use their knowledge and research in financial policy and patterns to come to the alarming conclusion that having two incomes is actually dangerous if you live like you have two incomes, because now you're twice as likely to lose up to half your monthly cash flow.
We all know what deregulation of the banking industry did for credit card and mortgage debt. Warren places the desire for good schools and those schools being tied to housing tax bases against an uncertain job market and predatory lending. We use both incomes to get the house to get the school, thinking we did right by our kids.
In the late nineties, I wouldn't have believed Warren, and I still wish she would've said "parent" instead of "mom," but as I read this, I'm laid off. Three years ago, my husband was. We both have degrees, I have a master's. We're healthy and in our early forties. We work hard. But nothing is stable in this economy. I don't intend to ever ignore that fact again and have every intention of paying off my mortgage within fifteen years, because I'm tired of being scared. I want all my fixed costs to be much closer to one of our incomes so a job loss doesn't feel so financially and emotionally devastating. ...more
Listened to audio version, which is 26 discs long. Parts were so dense, but the writing was beautiful and it took this normal kid and pushed him into Listened to audio version, which is 26 discs long. Parts were so dense, but the writing was beautiful and it took this normal kid and pushed him into a sweeping saga that unfolded over decades and across continents and through good people and bad decisions in a life that became bigger than he was almost from the first chapter. Boris is now one of my all-time favorite characters. ...more
This book is almost 1k pages long. It was overdue already but I read the first page anyway. Snd then I cancelled as much of my life as I could to finiThis book is almost 1k pages long. It was overdue already but I read the first page anyway. Snd then I cancelled as much of my life as I could to finish it. ...more
The story of a Jamaican slave named Lilith, but more than that. A story of slavery, but more than that. Of love, of family, of pride, of feminism, of The story of a Jamaican slave named Lilith, but more than that. A story of slavery, but more than that. Of love, of family, of pride, of feminism, of history, of hate, of unspeakable violence. Of hope.
Every character is complex. Not for children. Not for teens. Every adult should read. ...more
I finish this series that I started reading years ago in the last weeks of 2015, a year filled with terrorism and global warming and race-based violenI finish this series that I started reading years ago in the last weeks of 2015, a year filled with terrorism and global warming and race-based violence. It was the year of Stephen King, as more than ten of the eighty books I'll read this year were by him. The worse the world seems, the more I crave an enthralling story, and King can spin a hell of a yarn.
I cried twice reading this thousand-page last installment, and I will never feel the same about a golden-eyed animal. When I reached the ending, I was worried it would disappoint me, but it was absolutely existentially perfect in light of the wheel that continues to spin in the real world, where the current politics read like fiction and the power of friendship still overrides all the shit.
I can only compare this story to that of Anne Frank, one that should be required reading to understand The Lost Boys and Girls of southern Sudan. I juI can only compare this story to that of Anne Frank, one that should be required reading to understand The Lost Boys and Girls of southern Sudan. I just spent 45 minutes discussing it with my 71-year- old father. We contemplated oil, and power, and international politics. A must-read, but hard. I read fast and took this very slow, because who watches the boy behind him lie down against a tree and die of starvation and dehydration or be eaten by a lion or croc? This man survived to tell his tale, and we must read it and contemplate. ...more
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